Table Of ContentBUSINESS EXAMINATION QUESTIONS
ANSWERED
BUSINESS EXAMINATION
QUESTIONS ANSWERED
for Marketing and Management Students
Nicholas Boyce
M
© Niebolas Boyce 1975
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
without permission.
First published 1975 by
THE MACMILLAN PRESS L TD
London and Basingstoke
Associated companies in N ew York Dublin
Melbourne Johannesburg and Madras
SBN 333 14476 7
ISBN 978-0-333-14476-3 ISBN 978-1-349-01766-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-01766-9
This book is sold subject to the standard
conditions of the Net Book Agreement.
The paperhack edition of this book is sold subject to the condition that it
shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or other
wise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding
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condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent
purchaser.
iv
To my dear Father
This modest book is here to show
That one day I may truly go
Along the path that you first found
With tireless works that still abound.
January 1975 N. D. J. BOYCE
v
Contents
Preface viii
Introduction ix
1 Marketing
2 Sales Aspects 7
3 Economics 13
4 Commercial Law 19
5 Accounting and Financial Control 26
6 Statistics 34
7 Marketing Research 41
8 Advertising 46
9 Marketing Case Studies 52
Index 149
vii
Preface
Almost four years at the Institute of Marketing and a fair degree of
practical marketing experience and lecturing assignments left me with an
impression of the need for a product in the 'preparation for management
examinations' market.
That product is this modest book.
Much of the initial awareness of the need for this book was stimulated
through my contact with Ted Jenner, F.lnst.M., Director of Diploma
Studies at the Institute of Marketing. The acceleration of marketing
education in the United Kingdom owes more to this totally dedicated
professional than many of his contemporaries realise. My thanks are ex
tended to the Institute of Marketing, who have allowed me to draw
extensively from previous issues of the journal I once edited, Marketing
Forum, in the presentation of certain specimen answers in this book. For a
complete schedule see page 148.
My thanks also go to Pat Nunn, formerly of the Institute of Marketing,
for her determined efforts (always after 8 p.m.) at typing the final manu
script. Any errors in either typescript or interpretation that may remain
are entirely my own carelessness.
London N. D.J. B.
January 1975
viii
Introduction
Every year something like 40,000 management students in the United
Kingdom, at various academic levels, enter an examination hall and try
to sell themselves to an examiner by answering about five questions out
of ten in three hours. In many cases the candidates will never meet the
examiner, or group of examiners, and cannot therefore be expected to
understand his personal likes and/or dislikes in assessing examination
scripts. The candidate is thrown on the examiner's mercy with a script that
starts with a zero 'mark' (total failure) and has to justify a Pass grade by
the time the examiner reads the last page of the candidate's answer book.
It is rather like French justice-the candidate is presumed a failure until
he proves himself, or herself, passworthy.
On this rests the student's future. A whole year's full-time study, gruelling
attendance at night school or private study is put to the test in a few hours
on an early summer's day (more often than not). That so much rests on so
little is, to say the least, disturbing.
What tends to bring home this stark reality is the fact that generally
speaking very little time is devoted by tutors to the question of answer
format, presentation of written examination answers, layout and general
attitudes towards examination questions. Facts may be drummed into
students all year long but instruction into the presentation of these vital
facts on examination day is altogether sadly lacking. And this in a field
(management) where presentation of one's company and one's self may be
as important as the presentation of one's ideas and intellect.
This little book attempts to help management students in their final weeks
of revision by presenting answers to some of the more frequent questions
asked by examiners. Although it is difficult to present 'specimen' answers
to some management papers, in particular marketing, if candidates
produced answers along the lines presented in this book, examiners would
have difficulty in failing such examinees.
Most professional bodies, including the Institute of Marketing, would
not claim that having passed the final examinations, the candidate over
night becomes fit to be placed in the echelons of a marketing hierarchy.
Rather, that having passed its final examinations, the candidate has
ix
X INTRODUCTION
achieved at least a minimum level of competence in marketing and should
be able to progress to a responsible position in marketing management
given time and experience. Some candidates inevitably fall by the way
side because they are good at passing examinations but not so good at
meeting the day-to-day problems of business.
The difficulties of passing examinations, therefore, are with us from
birth and have to be grappled with at some stage in our lives. This means
that the student is stuck with the problem of selling himself to examiners.
That the candidate may fail the examination does not imply that he or
she will not become an efficient businessman or woman. However, the
whole question of obtaining business qualifications has assumed a greater
significance in the United Kingdom in recent years. Whether one is
studying marketing or not, anyone wishing to achieve success in business
today has to be able to market himself. The possession of a relevant, pro
fessional/business qualification will undoubtedly create a more marketable
product in the eyes of potential employers.
The object of this book then has been first, to identify those areas of
professional business study examinations that examiners are most fond of
testing candidates knowledge of, and second, to present specimen answers
to those areas that, by analysis, are most likely to appear in future
examination question papers.
Specimen answers are presented in a form that examiners like to read
and candidates would do well to study them before going into the
examination room.
Hopefully, the book will be of especial value to candidates preparing
to sit Diploma in Marketing (old and new syllabus), CAM examinations,
HNC/HND/DMS papers. Other professional students should also find
the book useful since most basic management subjects are covered.
Tutors should find the book helpful in directing their own lecture notes
to these areas that maintain a regular frequency in examination question
papers.
1
Marketing
Q.l. What is meant by the term 'the marketing concept'?
What is the value of this concept to marketing personnel in their work?
A. To fully explain the term 'the marketing concept' and its modern
application it is first desirable to gain some appreciation of the development
of marketing in the United Kingdom.
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, all manufacturers were craftsmen
tending to work on individual orders from local people. Nothing was made
unless specifically ordered. During and after the mid 1800s, a completely
revised approach was necessary for a variety of reasons.
(a) the development of transportation systems;
(b) greater national wealth with better production processes;
(c) greater demand for goods and services as a result of (b);
(d) a population explosion due to greater affluence and improved
medical services.
These were the principles on which marketing was founded. There was,
however, no question of marketing as we know it today. British goods
throughout the world were still supreme. Imports of manufactured goods
were negligible. The seeds were sown for a marketing orientation in later
years which meant that manufacturers could no longer produce what they
liked knowing there would be a ready market for such products. The
changing wealth and affluence of the country meant that consumers were
becoming more selective about their purchases so that manufacturers, in
turn, had to consider more carefully what they were offering for sale.
Satisfying consumer needs implied more than merely supplying a product
it extended into supplying a product of the demanded shape, size, colour,
features, style and so on.
The 'marketing concept' today therefore implies an understanding by
the manufacturer or supplier of a service, that he is aware of the precise
needs of his customers and is attempting to produce a product or service
that matches this demand. To achieve this end the marketing orientated
company is bringing together all the various specialist functions within
marketing to quantify precisely consumer-and potential consumers-
